Be Somebody
by LeeAnn95
Summary: First story with an OC. Don't hate. I suck at summaries. Basically, Hiro gets in trouble and as punishment, he has to tutor a high school girl named Mickie. She seems to be troubled, but Hiro never bargained for what goes down over the next few weeks.
1. Chapter 1

Hiro trudged down the hallway of the school. It was his old high school. He hadn't been here since he was 13, two years ago. But here he was, again. A few weeks ago, he'd agreed to do this as part of a deal to keep his scholarship at San Fransokyo Institution of Technology. "An act of community service you could call it." Tadashi had said.

"Community service my ass," Hiro said under his breath. He'd never heard of tutoring being a community service. Most people got paid to do this, but he had been forced into it as punishment for writing some college kids' papers. He got caught. Well they did. Bragging about it to their buddies so a professor could hear. That's dumber than having a fifteen year old genius have to write your papers. Honestly, he'd gotten off easy for it.

Turning the corner and opening the door to the counselor's private "quiet room", he tossed his bag onto the table and looked around. Small and poorly lit, the room consisted of two chairs with a table between them. His "peer" wasn't there yet. Apparently, his name was Mick and he needed help in math and science. Hiro's specialties. It was no coincidence he'd graduated high school at thirteen as Valedictorian. He'd pissed off a lot of preppy little teens with that.

Suddenly, the door opened behind him. He turned to face a girl, small and thin with blue eyes that took up most of her face. They were thickly lined in black. It was hard to see her face though with a mess of pink and blond hair covering half of it. She crossed her arms and cocked her hip, looking at Hiro through a curtain of hair. It almost reached her waist. She tilted her head and studied him.

"You my tutor?" she asked suddenly.

"Um, I don't think so. I'm supposed to have some guy. Mick?" Hiro looked at his papers.

"I'm Mickayla Thompson. I go by Mickie or Mick though cuz my mom gave me a stupid name. You Hiro?" she snapped her gum at him. He nodded. "Cool. Learn me something." She sat down and put her pink high top converse on the table. Hiro felt a ping of annoyance.

"Well first off, it's 'teach'. Not learn. Basic English."

"I know. I'm actually really good at English. I do it in a satirical matter. I don't speak like a lady, but I can tell you that I am one." she flipped her hair over her shoulder, studying him. "Aren't you a little young to be my tutor?"

"Aren't you a little old to need a tutor?" he retorted. He half expected her to snap at him. She didn't. Instead, she laughed a light pleasant laugh.

"Touche!" she said. Hiro exhaled, relieved.

"So, what do you want to go through first?" he asked.

* * *

So this is my new story. As much as I dislike creating my own characters, this one wrote itself. So let me know what you think and hopefully I can publish more :)


	2. Chapter 2

Hiro walked down the street, homeward bound. The tutoring session went better than expected. Not only did the girl, Mickie, seem eager to learn: but he had learned quite a bit about her. She was just two months older than himself. She excels at English and the arts, yet was clueless in math. And she didn't even seem to care. That bothered him, how little she cared about school. She hoped to be an artist when she graduated.

Though she did not talk about her home life. Hiro had mentioned his brother, aunt, even his cat. But she only said one thing: "I have a mom. Barely." That also bothered him. She actually made him quite nervous, how reckless she really seemed. It was off putting. But it was also alluring. He wanted to know more about her.

"So Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays we meet. And it doesn't always have to be at school. We can meet after school at other places so it doesn't seem so formal." Hiro told her, looking at his tutoring schedule.

"Sounds good, man. I don't like formality anyhow." Mickie replied, leaning over his papers. Her pink tipped hair brushed over them and Hiro's hand, startling him. He flinched, then handed her a schedule. She took it and folded it sloppily, shoving into her pocket. "So do you want to meet here Wednesday?"

"Sure. We meet here all this week. You know. To test the waters." he answered.

"Gotcha. You seem pretty cool. Hope this works out. Last one didn't."

"Oh really? What happened?"

"Chick didn't dig the look. She expected me to be a delinquent. She tried to convert me, to 'save' me cuz it was her god's will or something. Whatever though. Convinced her I was a lesbian and wanted her soul. She bailed pretty quick." Mickie lowered her head and giggled.

"Oh jeez. Are you?"

"No. Girls are nice and soft and pretty, but I like guys too much to be a lesbian. Bi-curious at most."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" he glanced up from his papers. She snapped her gum, considering.

"Yeah. Derek. He's great." she chewed slowly, deliberately.

"That's cool."

"You?"

"I'm not gay..."

"No." she pushed his shoulder playfully. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Oh," Hiro blushed. "No."

"Bummer. I should set you up with a friend."

"Oh, that's okay. I'm good."

"Suit yourself. Anyway, I gotta bounce. Derek's probably waiting for me outside." she said as she gathered her books.

"Same. Gotta help my aunt tonight in the cafe. I'll walk you out." he swung his bag over his shoulder and opened the door for Mickie. In return, she smiled and curtsied sarcastically. Then they walked silently down the hall towards the double doors. Sunlight poured in through the glass and blinded them as they stepped out into it. It glinted off an old Pontiac in front of the school. A guy, maybe 19, stood in front of it. He wore torn jeans and a black shirt with the sleeves ripped off. Obviously, he thought he had a cool look going for him.

"See ya, kid." she said, bouncing away. She bounced right into the guy's arms, kissing him. Hiro thought, must be Derek. Then he turned away and walked towards home. Which brought him here, to the Lucky Cat Cafe. His aunt greeted him with a smile.

"Hiro, how was your tutoring session?" she asked, clearing some dishes away from a table.

"Good. The girl was pretty cool. She's... peculiar." he responded, sitting in on the bench near the window. He put his bag on the floor at his feet.

"Peculiar. What a word."

"Well, she has a weird way of looking at the world. She's really laid back, yet really on edge. I don't know. She's just different."

"Different is good."

"It's a different kind of different. Dangerous." Hiro met Aunt Cass' eyes. She chuckled.

"I doubt she's dangerous, Hiro. Give her a chance."

"Alright. I'm taking a doughnut." Hiro said, grabbing a chocolate one before his aunt could protest. He hurried upstairs to tell Tadashi about his day. Tadashi kneeled over a red box in their shared room. Suddenly, a large white figure popped out of the box.

"Hello! I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion." it said.

"Baymax, go back to sleep. I'm trying to fix your battery compartment."

"I cannot deactivate until you say you are satisfied with your care."

"I'm satisfied with my care." Tadashi closed the box as the robot went into sleep mode. Then he noticed Hiro watching him. "Care to watch?"

"I see you do this all the time. Not much is new." Hiro said with a chuckle.

"Yes but this time, I'm using a flat head screwdriver." Tadashi twirled the screwdriver in his hand. Hiro wiggled his fingers sarcastically as if to say "Big whoop".

"So Tadashi. You know about girls." Hiro started, avoiding eye contact.

"I know of them. Why? You got yourself a little girlfriend?" Tadashi made a kissy face at Hiro. Hiro shoved him away.

"No. I just met one today and she's really weird and I don't know what to make of her."

"Is she cute?"

"I don't know. I guess. She's really... interesting."

"That's not a good word to describe a girl, Hiro."

"She's downright weird. She's really smart as far as literature and arts go, but she can't do math for shit. And she's kind of secretive. We talked about our families. Well I did. All she said is that she has a mom." Hiro found himself speaking rather fast.

"Some people take a bit to open up. You guys just met. Give her a few days. I bet it was just nervous tension. She's loosen up." Tadashi stood up and put his tools away.

"That's not even the problem. She's an open book. She's just off putting." Hiro sat on the edge of Tadashi's bed.

"Hmm. I don't know what to tell you. But interesting is good. Dry friends aren't good." Tadashi smiled and jokingly shoved his brother's shoulder. Then he walked out of the room.

"I hope you're right," Hiro said to the air.

* * *

Yes, Tadashi is alive in this. Basically forget about the fire. This is my own head canon so don't hate. Hope you like. More to come :)


	3. Chapter 3

Wednesday came quickly. Hiro opened the door to find Mickie already there, feet on table. Her head rolled back, swaying to some music emanating through her headphones. It took her a few moments to sense Hiro's presence. She looked at him and turned the music off. Then she grinned at him, pushing her hair back behind her ear.

"Welcome back to the nerd cage," she said.

"Nerd cage. I like that. Funny," he responded, studying her. She kicked her feet off the table and leaned over it instead. He did his best not to notice her cleavage threatening to spill out of her shirt. "What do you want to study first?"

"I have my homework done already. If you want to look it over, that'd be great." she handed him a notebook clad with doodles and stickers.

"Alright." he looked over the numbers and letters. "Not bad, but you have a few wrong."

"How do you know? You haven't had it for more than a minute."

"I don't know how I know. I just know. But this one is wrong. And this one," he pointed.

"Well shit, bro. You're smarter than I pegged you for." she took the notebook back and began erasing her answers. "So what are the answers?"

"You'll have to figure that out yourself. I'll help you though." he took out his own notebook and a calculator. "See, you don't seem to know the distributive property. When you have a number, three, on the outside of the parentheses, you multiply it by both numbers inside them."

"I did that." she said defensively.

"No, you multiplied three by the first number, then added that product to the second number. Here, try this." he drew a small diagram. "I didn't get it at first either, but my brother showed me this. Never be afraid to draw pictures to help your brain understand something."

"But that makes me dumb."

"No, not trying makes you dumb. Helping yourself makes you brilliant." he looked her in the eye. She seemed to be taken aback.

"So three times four is twelve."

"Yes."

"And three times five is fifteen."

"Again, yes."  
"So I add those together to get twenty-seven?"

"Very good! You got it." Hiro smiled. She grinned back.

"I think I do actually." she did the next problem, showing Hiro her handiwork.

"Yup. You got all of them. This is grade A work."

"Really? I don't think I've ever gotten an A in math." she giggled, looking over her notebook.

"I'm glad you got it. Cuz they're going to start throwing in letters to the mix for you to figure out soon."

"Woah what? No no, math is hard enough with numbers. How the hell am I supposed to figure out letters?"

"You just do it. They also try to convince you that you'll use this in real life one day. That's a lie though." Hiro gave a small laugh.

"Right. So you'll help me with the letter crap too, right?" Mickie pulled her arms inside her hoodie.

"Of course. That's my job now." he responded.

"Good. Cuz this is bullshit, man."

"Math?"

"School. I could just get a job now and be promoted to full time with benefits by the time I'm eighteen. I'd be set for life, yo." she pulled the strings of her hood.

"Not exactly. I know I'm not really an adult, but my brother is. But not really? He's still figuring stuff out. My aunt lets him stay at home while he's going to college. He wants to change the world though."

"That's rad. I just want to get through this world. Maybe not unnoticed. But live somewhere, not have to struggle, maybe have some kids. Someone who kisses me when he comes home from work. Just something simple."

"You seem to know exactly what you want." Hiro noted.

"Not really. Because I also want my own art studio where I can blast my music and throw paint and have rage fits and be famous cuz people connect to my art on an emotional level. Because that's all art is. Visual emotion." she pulled out a sketchbook and opened it. She slid it across the table to Hiro. He studied the drawing. A woman, leaning against a tree. It was so realistic. What got him though was the eyes. They pinned him to the wall. Haunting. Like she'd seen something long ago that won't go away. Hiro looked back to Mickie.

"This is REALLY good. I hope you know that." he told her. She smiled.

"Turn to the next one. It's one of my favorites." she commanded. Hiro followed her instruction. This was another woman, but not so young, laid across a floor. Bottles littered around her, a sheet draped over her naked body. Her eyes were shut, but it still told a terrible story. Loss. Betrayal. Something.

"This is so.. sad."

"It's my mom." she wouldn't meet his eyes. "I remember that night so clearly. I had to get it out of my system."

"Oh. What happened?"

"My dad, my real dad, found out she had been cheating on him. When he offered her forgiveness, she flipped on him. Yelling that it was his fault that she was confused. He still offered to take her back, but she threw him out. She tried to go to bed, but she ended up on the floor with a twelve pack of beer. She didn't leave that spot all night. She didn't come put me to bed. She didn't feed me dinner. I was only seven, but I remember her just laying there crying all night." Mickie glanced at Hiro. There was something Hiro didn't recognize in her eyes.

"I'm sorry.." he offered.

"Not your fault, kid. Probably mine somehow."

"How?"

"Mom never wanted kids. But she got custody of me in the end." she sighed.

"Is she not nice to you?" he asked.

"She's fine. Technically, being a cheating alcoholic whore doesn't effect your parenting skills. She's nice, but she ignores me most of the time. She has her own boy toys to worry about now. I don't really care what she does." Mickie opened to a new page, using a pencil to make light grey marks on the empty sheet.

"Whatcha drawing now?"

"You" she responded, not looking up.

"Me? Why?"

"You have a nice face. A good brain. I want to put it down on paper before I forget."

"Forget what?" he asked. She looked up and smirked. "No really, what?"

"Chill. You'll see it when it's done." Then she went back to work.

* * *

So Mickie is based on a good friend of mine, however her looks are based on my sister. If you guys want, she's agreed to do a mini cosplay of Mickie. But anywho, sorry if the math in this is incorrect. To my basic understanding, it is. But if not, sorry. Hope you guys enjoy :)


	4. Chapter 4

Hiro almost couldn't wait until Friday. He couldn't place why, but he was looking forward to seeing Mickie again. She had a way of luring him in with her eyes, even though her persona kept him on edge. He opened the door to find an empty room. He checked the time. 3:06. She might just be a bit late, he thought to himself. He sat at the table and took out his books. Time passed by slowly. 3:13, then 3:26, then 3:44. Five minutes to the end of their session time, he almost gave up on her. Then she burst through the door.

"Sorry, man. I was in the art room. I told myself just five minutes, then I'd come here, but I got distracted." she explained. "I hope you aren't mad.."

"No, I've just been waiting patiently," Hiro responded, smirking. She read into the sarcasm.

"Well I'm here now. What do you want to do?" she said, sitting on the table. When she stretched, Hiro noticed her belly button ring.

"Did that hurt?" he asked without thinking.

"What?" she followed his gaze. "Oh. Not really. Trick was keeping it clean. My industrial got infected when I got it, but that's probably cuz I was a pretentious little thirteen year old. I didn't realize how much work went in to piercings."

"Oh. What's an industrial?" Hiro looked as Mickie flipped her hair behind her ear. A bar went between two studs on the inside and outside of the cartilage of her ear.

"Hurt like a bitch too. I was thinking about getting my eyebrow done, but I don't know." she tapped the rubber tips of her converse together.

"I don't think you should pierce anything on your face."

"Why not?"

"Well, if you decide to take it out, you'll have a scar there. At least people don't look right to your ears when they meet you." Hiro studied her face. "You have a pretty face. Don't want to ruin that."

"Oh.." Mickie felt a flush to her cheeks. "I'm pretty?" Hiro nodded, blushing with her. For a moment there was silence. Then Mickie pulled out her sketchbook. She opened to a page and showed Hiro his own face.

"Oh, what.." He looked over the drawing. His face, with the top of his head opened on a hinge like a door. A brain was poking out of the head with graffiti all around it. The eyes were drawn with static in them like a broken television. Hiro couldn't believe it.

"So whatcha think?" Mickie asked.

"I.. I don't know. It's really really good. I've never seen something like this before."

"Good. I don't want people to compare me to anyone. Ever." she snapped her book shut and put it in her bag. "Congrats on your face."

He couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic. "Thank you?"

"So what are you doing tonight?" she changed the subject.

"I don't know. Probably nothing."  
"Wrong answer."

"What?"

"Nope. We're going somewhere. I'll meet you at your cafe thing at seven." Then she walked out the door, letting it close softly behind her. Hiro sat there for a few moments, dumbfound. Then he noticed the slip of paper she left on the table. He picked it up. Upon closer observation, it was a phone number. He put it in his contacts, packed his books, and went outside to find Mickie. But she was nowhere to be found.

* * *

A quick note on Mickie. I seem to love the way she speaks. Probably because I'm a sarcastic little shit too. That's very much besides the point. If anyone has any suggestions on funny little dialogue or catch phrases, lemme know haha. Hope you like it :)


	5. Chapter 5

At seven on the dot, Hiro heard the bell on the cafe door ring from downstairs. He had no idea what they were doing or where they were going, but he was prepared for anything. Well, almost anything. He approached Tadashi, who was watching a baseball game on the TV.

"Hey, what's a date exactly?" Hiro asked.

"A type of fruit, kind of like a fig." Tadashi didn't look up.

"No. I mean. With a girl. Like, what defines a date from just hanging out?"

"Why?"

"You know the girl I'm tutoring?"

"I know of her." Tadashi looked up at Hiro.

"She's downstairs and we're apparently going somewhere. And I have no idea where."  
"Huh. Well, do you like her?"

"She has a boyfriend." Hiro's face flushed slightly.

"That wasn't my question. Where you guys going?"

"I don't know. Somewhere I guess."

"Well, have fun I guess. Just don't get into trouble." Tadashi returned his attention to the television. Hiro nodded and went downstairs. The cafe bustle was dying down, but he found Mickie sitting near the door. She glanced up and saw him. Before he could get to her, Aunt Cass stopped him.

"Hiro, where are you going?" she asked.

"A friend of mine is taking me somewhere. No clue where though."

"Oh? Do I get to meet this friend?"

"Um, sure. That's her." Hiro motioned towards Mickie. She looked at him and his aunt and smiled. Aunt Cass studied her.

"Oh. I saw her come in. She seems... nice."

"Yeah. She's the girl I'm tutoring."

"Well just be safe. I'll see you later. I guess I'll have a night in by myself with both my boys going out."

"Tadashi's going out?" This was news to Hiro. Tadashi almost never went out.

"Yeah," she hugged him. "Be good. Call if it gets too late."

"Will do." Hiro said over his shoulder as he approached Mickie. She smiled and stood up to meet him at the door. Her hair was pulled into a side braid, half of it blond, half pink. Instead of her usual pink high tops, she wore black combat boots that tied up to her knees. Hiro wondered if they were heavy.

"Hey, kid. Thought you forgot about tonight." she greeted him with a slight shove to the shoulder.

"How could I forget? You just gave me no details." he smirked at her.

"Touche." she held the door open for Hiro and followed him out.

"So, where are we going?"

"Well we were talking about how you graduated at thirteen. And you're in college, but you're hella busy. So I figured that you've never experienced a real party, have you?"

"Well, no. Never been invited to one."

"Exactly. Thomas Berns is having a good one tonight."

"And?" Hiro was trying to play dumb, hoping he wasn't right about where they were going.

"And we're going. And we're gonna have fun." Mickie skipped a step and started walking backwards, facing Hiro.

"Is that a good idea?"

"Why not? I've been to a bunch of parties. No biggie. Just don't be a spaz. And don't drink anything unless you poured it yourself."

"It's a drinking party?"

"Is there any other kind?" she whipped her braid over her shoulder and turned back around. Hiro felt a bit queasy. He'd never been to anything like this. Being so young in school didn't really give him many opportunities to make friends. Let alone get invited to a party.

Then he noticed how Mickie was walking in front of him. Full of confidence, poise, somehow ladylike despite her attitude. She knew exactly what she wanted and where she was going. Taking on the world with only herself on her side. Fearless. And with that, he relaxed and told himself it would be just fine. At least, he hoped it would be.

* * *

Short, sweet, hella awkward. Love it. Hope you do too! :)


	6. Chapter 6

After a short bus ride, Mickie led Hiro to a side of town he'd never been. The buildings were close together and shady. He stuck close to her as they walked down the streets. Then, Mickie went into an ally and started up a fire escape. Hiro hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Mickie asked.

"Where are you going?" he retorted.

"To the party. This is the way to Tom's place. He lives in an apartment up here, but the landlord would get mad if he saw a bunch of kids going to his place. Come on, and be quiet." she continued up the stairs. Hiro shrugged and followed her up and through the window he saw her go in. He found himself in a small living room surrounded by people. Music blasted from somewhere, the bass so hard, Hiro could feel it vibrating through his torso. He couldn't tell why, but he liked it. Mickie grabbed his arm from nowhere.

"Come on. You gotta meet my friends." she insisted, pulling him into the kitchen. A group of people, not too much older than Hiro, surrounded a table. They were playing beer pong and talking loudly over the music. Mickie led him to a guy and girl, both brunettes and both with the same bright green eyes. He could immediately tell they were siblings, but that's where the similarities ended.

The girl had her hair chopped in layers over her shoulders, her eyes lined in black. She wore mostly black, including the stud on the left side of her nose. The guy on the other hand was tall and wore a dress shirt with fitted jeans. His hair was close cropped on the sides, but the top was gelled back into a swoopy design. He saw them approaching and smiled.

"Aw yeah! Now it's a party. Mickie, how you doing girl?" he pulled her into a hug.

"Gay as always." She squeezed him back.

"Just like me!" he tilted his head to the side and looked at Hiro. "Oh who is this?"

"Oh, this is my friend, Hiro Hamada. Hiro, this is Elliot. And his sister, Eliza." She motioned to the girl in black. Eliza simply looked him up and down and nodded.

"Nice to meet you!" Elliot hugged Hiro, then pulled away suddenly. The music had changed to something upbeat and hard at the same time. "OH MY GOSH! This is my JAM!"

"Oh jeez. Better back up, Hiro. Don't wanna throw off his groove." Mickie pulled Hiro to the side as Elliot bounced and bobbed into the living room. Then she smiled and grabbed a cup from the counter, offering one to Hiro.

"What's in it?" he asked.

"Dunno yet" she took a sip. "Hmm, vodka soda. If you're a lightweight, I'd sit this one out."

"Oh. I don't know." He took a sip himself. It burned on the way down his throat. He coughed and Mickie laughed.

"Kid, don't die on me yet. You haven't even gotten started." She downed her cup and took Hiro's from him, downing that too. Then Eliza came up to them, a little glass with something brown in it in her hand. The smell made Hiro dizzy. He knew it was something hard. She grinned and offered it to Mickie. Then she spoke.

"So your guy coming around tonight?" she asked.

Mickie threw back the liquor. "Dunno. He said he might. Hope he does. He doesn't like when I drink without him."

"He doesn't like when you do anything without him."

"Oh hush now. If you'll excuse me, I have an ass to dance off." Then Mickie strutted away, leaving Hiro with Eliza.

"So, I hear you're really smart." she said to him.

"Oh. I guess so. Why?" he felt nervous. He'd never been good making friends.

"Say something smart."

"Okay. Something smart." He said with a smirk. Eliza laughed.

"You're funny too. Double whammy. So you and Mick are good friends?" she sat on the table and crossed her legs.

"Not really. I just met her Monday. I tutor her and she just told me we were hanging out tonight. I had no clue we were coming here. With these people.." he leaned against the counter, relaxing.

"These people.. Got it." she seemed offended.

"No no, don't get me wrong. I'm having fun. I just don't hang out with this kind of crowd."

"Ah. Nerd crowd gotcha down. You should be living it up."

"Ech. I don't really do much other than school and stuff at home."

"Change that. You don't need a dry life."

"Right." He scanned the crowd for Mickie. He could see her pink hair whipping back and forth to the beat of the bass. She was grinding on some guy who he saw was Derek. He remembered him picking Mickie up on the day he met her. He still had that "cool guy" look on his face as he danced.

"You okay, man?" Eliza asked, touching his shoulder.

"What? Oh, yeah. Just looking for Mickie."

"Hey, you wanna dance?"

"Um, sure." Hiro found himself being led to the room full of people. Eliza shook her hips and pulled him close. He found this very uncomfortable. But she took no notice, rubbing on him and dancing in front of him. He tried to concentrate on his own movement. But when she bent down in front of him, he jumped back.

"Sorry, man. I was just trying to be sexy for you. Jeez." Eliza flipped her hair over her shoulder and sulked away. Hiro felt himself turn different shades of scarlet. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. Mickie was behind him.

"Oh don't worry about her. She gets that way a lot." she said. Elliot was with her.

"Don't give it a second thought. My sister can be super bitchy sometimes." he said, patting his back. Then he grinned. "Next time, just dance with me doll."

"Oh Ell. Your gay is showing again."

"Oh no! Where?" he covered himself and faked a shocked expression. Then he grinned again and pushed Mickie's head slightly. That was just enough to send her falling against Hiro.

"You okay?" Hiro asked, suddenly worried.

"Yeah. I just had a bit much. I need a drink. Not a drink drink. Just a coke would be nice." She sat down on the couch and leaned her head back.

"I'll get it." Hiro went to the kitchen and poured some soda into a red cup. On his way back to Mickie, he felt someone grab the hood of his hoodie. Then a familiar voice called him.

"Hiro?" it said. He didn't even need to turn around.

"Tadashi!"

* * *

Aw snap! Hope you like :)


	7. Chapter 7

"Tadashi!" Hiro spun around to face his brother. He knew what was coming. He was dead. He looked at Tadashi with big innocent eyes, hoping it would help his case. No such luck. Tadashi stared straight through the innocent look and glared at Hiro.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he looked at the cup in Hiro's hand. "What is that?"

"It's not mine. And it's just coke I swear. I was getting it for my friend."

"Uh huh. And where is this friend?" Tadashi crossed his arms over his chest. Hiro looked over at Mickie on the couch. Derek was sitting where she had been, Mickie on his lap. Her head lolled against his shoulder. Tadashi's glare softened. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know. She was dancing and she got dizzy I guess." Hiro looked to Tadashi.

"How much has she had to drink?"

"A few cups of vodka soda. And a few shots. I don't know if she had anything after she started dancing. She was with her boyfriend."

"The guy she's sitting on?" Tadashi walked towards the couple.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm making sure she's okay. Then I'm taking both of you home." he kept walking. Hiro lowered his head. He knew he was in deep. But he wanted to make sure his friend was okay. He followed Tadashi and handed Mickie her drink.

"Thanks. I think I'm feeling a bit better." she took a drink from the cup and took a deep breath.

"Mickie, right? Are you feeling dehydrated? Have you eaten anything in the last few hours?" Tadashi felt her forehead, making Derek raise an eyebrow.

"She's fine, man. Leave my chick alone." he got in Tadashi's face.

"She doesn't look fine. I'm taking her and my brother home. Come on, Mickie." He went to pick her up. She looked grateful.

"No. She's fine with me. I'll take her home when we're done here." Derek stood up, puffing his chest out like a peacock. Funny, Hiro thought, he was built bigger than Tadashi. But did he really think he could take on a black belt? Hiro stood back, in case things got ugly. But Tadashi just stood there, observing Derek's movement to detect a threat. Then he looked to Mickie.

"Do you want to go home now? Or do you want to stay here with him?" he asked to her. Mickie considered. Then she looked at Derek and smiled.

"I think I'm in good hands. I'll stay til he takes me home. Thanks though." she said.

"Alright. You rest and don't drink anything but water now. And try to get some carbs in your stomach. Something to absorb the alcohol. Now I have to take bonehead here home. Have a safe rest of your night." Tadashi said, taking Hiro by the sleeve and leading him out of the building.

The car ride home was nearly silent. Hiro knew Tadashi well enough to know he was doing it on purpose. To make Hiro be the first to say something. To apologize. He looked out the window as if he'd find the words to say on the buildings rushing past them. Tadashi's voice surprised him though.

"So, what did you all have to drink?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the road.

"Nothing really. I had a sip of something, but I couldn't finish it. Mickie took it from me. I think she didn't want me to drink. Just experience the party, if that makes sense." Hiro looked at the rubber tips of his shoes.

"Huh. Well at least you didn't drink yourself sick. She's going to be hurting tomorrow morning." Tadashi said with a chuckle.

"So what were you doing there anyway?"

"I go as a favor to some kids. To keep an eye on things and be the designated driver home. I'll be going back as soon as I get you home. I can make sure your friend gets home safe if that guy doesn't. He didn't seem very trustworthy. I knew him in school. Real douchebag."

"Really?" Hiro was surprised that Tadashi knew Derek.

"Yeah. I knew nothing would come of him anyway. It doesn't really matter. So what am I going to tell Aunt Cass?" Tadashi glanced at Hiro.

"What? No, Tadashi. She'll never let me out again." Hiro pleaded. "I didn't even know we were going to a party. That's not fair."

"Well we have to tell her something. She knew where I was going tonight." he turned down their road. Hiro leaned his head against the window.

"Please, Dashi." he begged using his brother's old nickname. He made his eyes go wide, trying to look as innocent as possible. "I'll stay out of trouble. I promise."

Tadashi rolled his eyes. "Alright, knucklehead. You owe me though. I won't tell Aunt Cass on the condition that you stay away from that girl."

"What?" Hiro almost thought he heard him wrong.

"She's nothing but trouble. If that party got busted, you'd be the one to go down for it. You think she'd make sure you got out safe?" Tadashi pulled in next to the cafe.

"Actually, I think she would. She was looking out for me the whole night. She's not as bad as you think, Tadashi." he opened the car door. "And I can't promise that I'll stay away from her. I'm her tutor. That's besides the point. She's really cool and I'm not going to ignore her now."

Tadashi watched as Hiro slammed the door and sulked into the cafe. He closed his eyes and shook his head. When will he learn, he thought. He always gets into the worst trouble. First bot fights, now this. He wouldn't tell Aunt Cass. But he secretly hoped that Mickie would stop coming around. She was nothing but trouble, he told himself.

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Sorry I haven't been on in like, 5ever. But I'm back and here you go :) Hope you like!


	8. Chapter 8

Aunt Cass barely looked up from her movie as Hiro snuck upstairs to his room, flopping onto his bed. He lay face down for a few moments, then pulled out his phone. Finding Mickie's number, he texted her, "Did you get home ok?" Then he waited. He looked at the clock. It was only a bit after eleven. He stared at his phone. Then he tinkered with his bots. Then he wrote a paper on electro-magnetics for robotics class. When he was finally done with his paper, it was one in the morning. Still no word from Mickie.

Worried, Hiro decided to call her. He listened to the phone ring three times, then he heard a voice on the other end. "You've reached Mickie, leave me something sweet and I might get back to ya" then a long beep. He didn't bother leaving a message. She'd see the missed call and call him back. At least he hoped she would.

Tadashi got home around two in the morning. Hiro quickly pulled the covers over his head and steadied his breathing. He didn't want Tadashi to know he was still awake for some reason. Footsteps lightly made their way up the steps and into their room. Hiro could hear them stop near him. He squeezed his eyes shut and lay still, facing away from his brother. Then Tadashi spoke quietly.

"Oh, Hiro. I know you can't really hear me, but I hope you can soak this up somehow. That girl is bad news. Do what you want, but I wouldn't hang with her. You have so much potential. But you're wasting it doing these things. Bot fights, writing people's papers, parties. Just don't get in too deep where you can't dig your way back out. I love you. I don't want to see you get hurt." Tadashi whispered. Hiro did his best not to move. Then he felt a hand lightly on his head, ruffling his hair.

When Hiro heard Tadashi go to his own side of the room and shut the screen, he sat up. He rubbed his eyes and checked his phone. A new message had popped up just a few minutes ago. It was from Mickie. He opened it and read, "Yeah. Staying at Derek's. It's all good." to which Hiro responded, "Good. Hope you had fun. Get some sleep." He stared at his screen until she responded. "Oh I did. And I won't be sleeping much tonight lol ;)"

For a moment, Hiro didn't understand. Then it clicked. His stomach churned slightly. Derek seemed nice and all, but he gave off this bad vibe. Like he was dirty somehow. That was besides the point. Hiro just didn't like the idea of him taking advantage of Mickie like that.

He simply responded with an "lol" and rolled over to sleep. He got no response after that. Tossing and turning the rest of the night, Hiro found it hard to fall asleep and stay asleep. His head was pounding from the loud bassline of the music that night. So much had happened in such a little amount of time. He thought back to the people he met. Elliot seemed cool, even though he was eccentric. But his sister, Eliza, was different in almost every way. Elliot was friendly and smiley. Eliza was stand-off-ish and gave a smirky grin. Hard to believe they were related, even if they looked similar.

Somewhere between the siblings and musical thoughts of the night prior, Hiro found a brief dreamless sleep. Dawn came much too quickly. Sunlight spilled through the blinds. Hiro opened his eyes, rolled over, and shut them again. He refused to get up yet. He was so tired, he didn't think he could make it yet. Just a few minutes more, he told himself. The next thing he knew, Hiro was being shaken roughly.

"Get up, bonehead. It's almost noon." Tadashi was standing over him.

"Ugh, five more minutes." Hiro pulled the covers over his head.

"I know you. Five more minutes means another hour. Get up, lazy butt. We promised Aunt Cass to help with the lunch rush today. Get dressed. We have five minutes to be downstairs."

"No. I'm so tired. Can't get up. Sorry, bro." Hiro shut his eyes tightly.

"Oh, you can't?" Tadashi raised an eyebrow. Then Hiro felt his body leave his bed.

"What are you-" he was cut short by a rough shake. He suddenly found himself upside down, hanging by his ankles. Tadashi had him lifted above his bed.

"Getting the blood to your brain so you can function. You good now?" Tadashi chuckled.

"I'm good! I'm good!" Hiro insisted as he was put back onto his bed. He felt a bit dizzy, but pulled his converse on. He had slept in his clothes that night, but he didn't care. A fresh shirt would do it. He zipped a clean hoodie over his shirt and went downstairs to the cafe.

Between bussing tables and cleaning up spilled coffee, Hiro found himself wondering if Mickie was okay. A strange feeling that she wasn't kept eating at him. He checked his phone every so often. Nothing. After the lunch rush was over, he went to text her. But he had no idea what to say. He didn't want to seem overbearing. A simple "Hey, how ya doing?" would suffice. He quickly typed it in and sent it. Before he could even get back to his room, his phone rang.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Are you home?" Mickie's voice.

"Uh yeah. Why?"

"Derek bailed on me and I don't want to go home. You up for company?" she sounded winded. Hiro could hear cars in the background.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"Somewhere between Derek's and the cafe. I didn't really have a plan B honestly."

"Oh. Sure, I'll ask my aunt. She shouldn't have a problem with it."

"Great. I'll be there soon. See ya, kid." then a click. Hiro didn't know why, but his stomach lurched. He couldn't even tell if he was excited, or if he was dreading this visit. Either way, he went downstairs to find Aunt Cass. She was behind the counter, counting change out for a man who'd ordered coffee. Hiro waited until she had a moment to spare before spurring his question


	9. Chapter 9

"Hey, Aunt Cass? Do you think I could have a friend over?"

"Is it the girl from last night?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Mickie." he lowered his head, but kept eye contact. A trick he'd learned early on to getting what he wanted. Innocent doe eyes peering from under a mess of ebony hair.

"Oh all right. Just don't come into the cafe with any funny business." she winked at him.

"No no. It's not like that-" he was cut off by the ring of the cafe bell. He looked up to see Mickie. But a different Mickie. Instead of her hair wild as usual, it was pulled into a polished ponytail on top of her head. Her face was free of eyeliner or any makeup for that matter. The usual revealing clothes were replaced with jeans and a hoodie. All in all, she looked like someone else. Yet it was still the same girl that stood before him.

"Hey. Sorry I kind of just dropped in. I just didn't really have anywhere to go." she said.

"No that's okay, hun. Any friend of Hiro's is a friend of ours." Aunt Cass smiled at her, then at Hiro. He felt his face flush.

"Okay, well lets go upstairs then." He quickly grabbed Mickie's wrist, leading her up the steps into the house. He had no time for his aunt's nonsense and embarrassing remarks. "So, this is my humble abode. Feel free to plop anywhere."

"Cute." Mickie sat delicately on the couch. "So, your aunt seems nice."

"Yeah. She's the best. Except she gets her nose into our business. And almost nothing gets past her. It's great until she catches you almost out the door after curfew." he chuckled.

"At least she cares. I can be stomping out the door yelling 'I'm out to sell my soul for sex and drugs' and my mom wouldn't even notice. Be grateful that someone's looking out for you." Mickie cocked her head to the side. Hiro was taken aback.

"That's not what I meant. I just meant-"

"I know what you meant. I'm just letting you know for future reference. Say 'thank you' and 'I love you' as often as possible. You never know when it's the last thing you'll say to her. Or anyone. Tread lightly through the world. Leave as little scars as possible. In other words, don't be an ass." she looked him dead in the eye, her crystal blues meeting his deep brown eyes.

"I... Okay. I'll be nicer I guess. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Just be a decent human being." she looked up at the ceiling. A noise came from the floor above. "What was that?"

"My brother's working on his robotics project." Hiro joined her gaze.

"Huh. Do you do robotics?"

"Yup. Wanna see?"

"Hell yeah!" she jumped up. Hiro motioned for her to follow him upstairs. They entered the bedroom and saw the large balloon of a robot, Baymax. Tadashi was at the computer, programming a new chip. It took him a few moments to notice the presence of the teens in the doorway. When he looked up however, his stomach dropped. Her again? He thought to himself.

"Hey, guys. What can I do you for?" Tadashi said, forcing a small smile.

"Mickie wanted to see Baymax." Hiro gave his brother a look he knew well. A pleading look. A 'don't mess this up for me' look. Tadashi sighed.

"Sure. Why not?" he took the chip out of the computer and put it in the robot's access port. "Just in time too. I programmed a few new things on this chip." Tadashi pushed the access port back into the torso of Baymax, and it came to life.

"Hello, I am Baymax. Your personal healthcare companion. What care are you in need of today?" it said, turning its head. Mickie's eyes grew wide.

"Pretty rad, man. What's it do?" she said.

"I'll show you, " Tadashi grinned. "Baymax, scan Mickie."

The bot turned its head and waddled towards Hiro and Mickie.. "I will scan you now. Scan complete. You seem to be experiencing mood swings as well as high nicotine levels. Although, I suggest you wait until you are older activities such as smoking, you seem to have long term experience with it."

"Jeez. What else do you know about me?" she cocked her head to the side.

"Your blood type is AB negative. You have normal cholesterol levels, but low iron levels. I suggest a multi-vitamin. You are also allergic to penicillin." it held up a finger as it gave the information. Mickie stared in awe.

"That's amazing!" she poked the robot's torso and giggled. "It's so soft. I love it."

"I was going for a huggable thing." Tadashi poked Baymax's access port. A chip popped out. "This is what programs him. I programmed him with over ten thousand medical procedures. I'm still working on him though. I want to perfect him before I send him off in the world."

"Huh. You should see if schools will take him. I'm sure he's more capable than school nurses."

"That's the idea. To replace first aids kits and human error with a machine that accurately assesses health but still has enough humanity to make people feel safe."

"Huh." Mickie looked Baymax up and down.

"I cannot deactivate until you say you're satisfied with your care." it said.

"Oh. Well then, I'm satisfied with my care." she watched as Baymax waddled back to its charging dock and deflated. "So cool."

"So you smoke?" Tadashi suddenly asked.

"Oh you caught that. Yeah, sometimes. I've tried quitting but that goes nowhere."

"Why do it at all?"

"I'll die faster." she crossed her arms. Neither Tadashi nor Hiro could tell if she was kidding. The silence was deafening for a few moments when she spoke again. "I like it. I think it's gonna do great. Change the world."

"That's the plan. I gotta run to the store quick and get some more parts though. I'll be back. Don't play with anything, Hiro." Tadashi gave Hiro a knowing look, to which Hiro stuck out his tongue. "I mean it."

"I won't, Dashi!" Hiro watched as Tadashi rolled his eyes and walk out of the room. Then he turned to Mickie. "So, wanna do something fun?"

"Like what?" she answered. Hiro grabbed a black robot with a yellow happy face from his desk. Mickie looked at the bot with a raised eyebrow.

"What the hell is that thing?" she cocked her head.

"Megabot."

"What's it do?"

"I'll show you," Hiro grinned wickedly and motioned her to follow him out the door. "Aunt Cass, I'm going out!" he yelled as they quickly went out the door, not even waiting for his aunt's answer. Hiro led her down the busy streets of San Fransokyo. He knew exactly where he was going. Mickie didn't, yet this didn't seem to faze her. She seemed right at home in the bustle. What got Hiro however was the comment she'd made earlier.

"Did you mean that. What you said earlier about smoking?" he asked.

"That I smoke or why I do it?" she kept her eyes straight forward.

"Both I guess." he shifted uncomfortably.

"I dunno." she met his eyes. There was a strange emptiness in hers. "Probably. I don't want to dye, but I don't know if I actually want to live."

This floored Hiro. "You don't.. you know.. hurt yourself, do you?"

"I kill myself every day. In some way or another. Death is coming. Might as well face it head on." she exhaled sharply. "Besides. I'd rather die a thousand deaths than have to face my actual life."

Hiro noticed that she didn't answer his question.

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Hope you like :)


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